Dave,
The easiest way to get a little better gearing and keeping the rest of your original driveline (torque tube?) is to find a 1954 1/2 ton torque tube. Your '53 has a 4.11 rear end and the '54 has a 3.90.
Not much improvement but it is noticeable (about 5%?).
You say, however, that you want a regular driveshaft. In that case, you would have to obtain a suitable rear-end (and springs or spring mounts), driveshaft, transmission, and possibly clutch housing (or housing adapter). This does not "keep the original driveline" but it keeps your engine.
It seems that many people have done this (at least many people have talked about this).
Here is an article on
transmission swap. The
Tech Tips section of the forum has a few articles on transmission swaps.
At the bottom of this article in information on
rear ends. Maybe other people will post their personal experiences with swapping/adapting drive-train components.
Tim
